The City of Kissimmee School of Government Class graduated on Thursday night, May 23, 2019, after 9 weeks (well, technically 8 weeks due to weather) hands-on learning the City of Kissimmee provides to its residents at no cost. The course is intended to enlighten its citizens in how its local government functions. Over the course of the classes, students had a first-hand look into some of those departments the City of Kissimmee operates.
- City Hall- City Manger’s Department and City Clerk’s Office
- Kissimmee Lakefront Park – Parks and Recreation
- Central Services – Public Works and Engineering
- Kissimmee Gateway Airport and Economic Development
- Kissimmee Fire Station 11 – Kissimmee Fire Department
- Kissimmee Utility Authority and Toho Water Authority
- Development Services
- Communications and Public Affairs
“Our mindset when starting the program was to get residents more engaged with what’s going on. As a result of the program, we’ve actually seen a lot of the participants willing to volunteer to be on boards and then ultimately we will have those people running for City Commission. That’s really the goal,” says Mike Steigerwald, City Manager of Kissimmee.
“I participated in this class to build relationships with the different department heads at the City Of Kissimmee. Several including Commissioners and the City Manager I already knew. Also to be able to experience hands on activities most citizens don’t get the opportunity to participate in such as operating firefighting equipment or seeing the amazing facilities that the City Employees work at to keep our community running.” – Cindy Joint, City of Kissimmee School of Government Graduate
The evening started with a presentation from the Communication and Public Affairs Department, explaining how staff market, manage and successfully promote the City of Kissimmee in a professional and respectful way through social media, radio, television, and print publications. This department is committed to providing the public with information in an accurate and timely fashion.
School of Government graduates and their guests along with City Commissioners enjoyed dinner before the class of 2019 School of Government received their certificates. Now graduates are equipped with the knowledge required to serve on one of the City’s advisory boards or even run for a seat on the City Commission.
Thank you to all of the staff members throughout the City that work day in and day out to make Kissimmee the city it is today. Thank you to the City of Kissimmee for its transparency and desire to educate the citizens of Kissimmee. The City of Kissimmee School of Government Class is highly recommended and if you are interested in more information on the next class visit, kissimmee.org.
